Ecuadorian authorities have discovered a 33-meter-long submarine designed to smuggle drugs to the United States.

Officials say police found thevessel at a jungle shipyard in Ecuador near the Colombian border as it was preparing for its first voyage. One person was arrested at the site.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the discovery.

DEA officials say the submarine is the first completely submersible vessel they have ever found that is designed for transoceanic drug trafficking voyages. Semi-submersible vessels typically unload drugs destined for the United States in Central America and Mexico.

The submarine is equipped with a cabin about 2.7 meters high, a periscope and air conditioning.

Ecuador is in the Andean region, the world's largest cocaine-producing area.